Billiard table meter



June 23, 1959 H. D. BELL ,5

BILLIARD TABLE METER Filed Oct. 19. 1954 Inventor FIG.3 HARVEY 0. BELL United States Patent BILLIARD TABLE METER Harvey D. Bell, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada Application October 19, 1954, Serial No. 463,287

1 Claim. (Cl. 161-12) This invention relates to a combination timer and light switch and has a useful application in the recording of playing time on billiard tables. In an establishment which rents billiard tables it is common that when the table is requisitioned by a player, the flood light over the table is turned on and, the playing time for charging purposes is therefore computed for the period that the n-- There is herein provided a meter actuated by the flood light switch which "records the periodfor which the flood light over the table is on thus recording the playing time for charge purposes. For convenience the meter may be calibrated in dollars and cents .rather than in minutes, but will often be calibrated in minutes to avoid drawing attention to dilferenttcharges for different nutribers of players or for different games. 'There is provided in a preferred embodiment of the invention an automatic reset device actuated by turning off the light which resets the meter to a datum position ready to be actuated the next time the light is turned on to record the charge for that particular game.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section showing the principal operating members of the meter.

Figure 2 is an exploded view of the actuating means for driving the meter when the light is on and for disengaging the meter when the light is off.

Figure 3 shows a front view of the commercial form of the meter.

In the drawings a rectangular casing having an open front is covered by a facing plate 11 slotted at 12 and 13 to provide a reading of the game time and a reading of the total time expended at that table respectively. A flood light switch handle 14 projects through an aperture 16 and the casing is also provided with apertures 18 and 20 for functions to be hereinafter described.

In Figure 1 a synchronous motor 21 is provided with an output worm gear 22 which drives worm wheel 24 mounted rigidly on a shaft 26 which in turn is rotatably connected to the casing 10 by bearings 30. Rigidly mounted on the shaft at each end thereof are two worm gears 32 and 34 to connect to recording units 36 and 38 to be described in detail hereinafter.

Mounted on the front of the casing is the switch 14 which is electrically wired in series both with the motor 21 and to the flood light through lead 23 for a billiard table (although the flood light and motor are wired in parallel with each other).

A reset button 44 projecting through the front of the casing is mounted on the free end of lever 45 whose other end is pivotally connected to the casing at 79. It will be noted that moving the switch handle 14 to the right in Figure 2 (that is to the Off position) deflects the lever in the same direction but that the lever is free to move in the direction of the switch when the switch is to the left in Figure 2.

2,891,618 Patented June 23, 1959 Recording unit 36 is best shown in Figure 2 and it is this unit which records the playing time of an individual game.

A shaft 50 is rigidly mounted on the casing and acts as a mounting member for the parts to be described hereinafter and said shaft carries slidably over its left hand end (as shown in the drawing) a sleeve 52.

Opposite opening 12 in the casing front are mounted an hour calibrated wheel 56 and a minute calibrated wheel 58. The minute calibrated wheel 58 is rigidly mounted on the sleeve 52, but is geared to the hour wheel 56 so that one rotation of the minute wheel causes unit movement in the hour wheel. The hour wheel therefore is slidably mounted on the sleeve 52. This gear connection is not shown but in Figure 2 is shown schematically as 57. In Figure 2 connection 57 is shown between wheels 56 and 58. It will be understood that in the preferred practical embodiment the wheels are juxtaposed as shown in Figure 3 and the gear connection therefore hidden under the peripheries of the wheels. Several methods of accomplishing this connection will be well-known to those in the art. Also rigidly mounted on the sleeve 52 is a hair-spring winder 59 which mounts a spring connected at one end to the casing and at the other end connected to the sleeve to oppose movement of the sleeve in the direction of increasing elapsed time.

Thus when the wheels are indicating an elapsed time they are under a constant bias towards the position in which both wheels register zero (that is, no hours and no minutes). Also rigidly mounted on the sleeve 52 is a I clutch plate 54 by which the driving power for the meter wheelsis obtained. Keyed to and slidably mounted on the shaft 50 but not to the sleeve 52 is the complementary clutch plate 64 rigidly mounting a pressure plate collar 66. As seen in Figure 2 the pressure plate collar 66 provides with the back of the clutch plate 64 a groove 65 in which an actuating means may lie to move the clutch plate 64 into or out of engagement with its corresponding clutch plate 54 by pressure either on the back of the clutch plate 64 or on the collar 66. At the end of the shaft 50 is mounted gear wheel 68 which meshes with the worm gear 32 as hereinbefore described. It will be noted that the collar 66 and complementary clutch plate 64 are slidably mounted on and keyed to the shaft 50. Between the collar 66 and the gear wheel 68 is a compression spring 70 which acts to bias the complementary clutch plate 64 along shaft 50 against the clutch plate for driving connection. Residing in the groove between the pressure plate collar 66 and the back of the clutch plate 64 is a curved arm which is rigidly attached to lever 78, which latter element is pivotably connected to the casing at 79 and shown in detail in Figure 2. It is thus seen that movement of the lever to the right in Figure 2 acts to disengage the clutches to prevent the drive of the indicator wheels 5856, while movement of the lever to the left acts to engage the clutches. As the lever itself supplies no bias force to the clutches the clutches are continually actuated towards closed position by the spring 70 pressing on the clutch plate 64. However, the free end of the lever lies in the path of the switch handle 14 when the switch is moved to the off position (to the right in Figure 2). The switch knob therefore acts to push the lever to the right and to disengage the clutches. Disengagement of the clutches allows the fly spring 59 to rotate the indicator wheel 58 and through it the indicator 56 back to the zero datum.

The electrical circuit as seen in Figure 1 includes a power line 80 from a power source to the switch and from the switch to both the motor and to the flood light (not shown). Therefore, when the switch is off the motor is disconnected and the flood light is off.

The operation of the invention is therefore as follows: When the flood light is off the clutches 54-64 are dis engaged and the actuating spring 59 therefore ensures that the individual game indicator is at zero datum. When the switch handle is on the biasing spring 70 on the shaft actuates the clutches 54-64 to closed position and in doing so moves the lever 78 in the direction of the actuating switch handle 14. The electric current flowing through the switch actuates the synchronous motor 21 which drives through the clutch connection the indicating wheels 5658 which calculates in hours and minutes the time used by the players playing the game at the table over which the fioodlight is located. When the game is completed the time may be read off and the player charged accordingly. The light switch handle 14 is then turned off to turn off the flood light over the table and to disconnect the clutch connection 54-64 and incidentally to turn off the motor 21. On the disconnection of the clutch connection 54-64 the fly spring 59 actuates the indicators 5658 back to the zero datum and the meter is therefore ready to indicate the next game.

As an added feature, there is provided a second worm wheel drive incorporating worm gear 34 and worm wheel 92. Wheel 92 is mounted on a shaft to which is rigidly connected a minutes indicating wheel 96. To the minute indicating meter 96 are connected hour indicators 98, 100, 102, which are respectively geared to the gears on their right in Figure 3, so that a movement of any gear on the right through a complete rotation will cause unit movement in the gear next to its left, in the normal manner of distance recorders. No clutch connection is shown for this indicator as it is intended to indicate the cumulative amount charged for playing on the respective tables. Thus any time the motor is connected, the meter 38 is operating to show a cumulative total. In order that this cumulative total shall not be obvious to the players, a shutter 106 is pivotally mounted on the shaft and the shutter is operated by the connecting handle 108 which moves the shutter into or out of its masking position.

I claim:

Billiard table apparatus comprising a source of rotary power adapted to supply continuous rotating power to a shaft, a rotary indicator for indicating elapsed time, a clutch connection between said shaft and said indicator, said clutch being normally biased towards an engaged position, said rotary indicator, having a datum position, biasing means for iurging said rotary indicator towards said datum position, said biasing means being weaker than the rotary power transferred through said clutch connection, an electric light circuit, a switch operable to open and close said circuit and control the operation of said source of power, a lever connected to move said clutch from an engaged to a disengaged position, and mechanical means whereby movement of said switch to the off position causes said lever to move said clutch to the disengaged position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 289,862 Shcehy Dec. 11, 1883 464,540 Wilder DC. 8, 1891 569,296 Newbakr ,Oct. 13, 1896 1,319,454 Arthur an... Oct. 21, 1919 1,557,721 Passamaneck et al. Oct. 20, 1925 1,814,278 Beard July 14, 1931 1,973,275 Babson Sept. 11, 1934 2,368,761 Hogan Feb. 6, 1945 

